The Invasion of Asian (Carp that is)

Asian Carp are a nuisance and danger to anyone that wants to use the waterways in the Mississippi Basins.  They are one of the top most invasive species on the earth. In some places 9 out of 10 fish are Asian carp.  They are slowly destroying the existing fish population in the rivers they move into. To solve this problem, more people have to know about it. And so I will tell you about the Asian carp.

The Asian carp were first introduced into the US by Southern fish farmers in the 1970’s. They used them to clean out the ponds they used to raise catfish.  Flooding allowed them to escape into the surrounding waterways. Although they are called Asian carp, they are really a crossbreed between bighead and silver carp.

Startled Asian Carp jump out of the water

There are many dangers that the Asian carp produce in their rapid expansion. One danger in Asian carp comes in the
fact that when a boat motor reaches a certain frequency they get frightened and jump out of the water sometimes
hitting boaters. It doesn’t seem that bad until you realize that they can grow up to be 150 lbs.  They can also produce about 2 million eggs per year after they reach maturity.  There are also economic dangers to the Asian carp. If the Asian carp were to get into the Great lakes, the $7 billion fishing industry would come crashing down as the carp
destroy the existing fish populations.

Many measures are being taken to stop the advance of the Asian carp. Electric barriers are being set up to help stop. Another popular measure to slow the Asian carp is exceedingly simple. Eat them. Over 500 tons of carp are pulled from American rivers each year. Although most of it is packaged and exported to China, some of it is eaten locally. There are many other measures being tested everywhere in the Mississipi Basin.

Overall the Asian carp situation is only getting worse every second we wait to fix it. This problem requires immediate attention. What more is there about the Asian Carp? Who is trying to stop them? What can you do? That is for you to find out.

4 thoughts on “The Invasion of Asian (Carp that is)

  1. I really liked this article, but I would have liked to see more about some potential predators. Although adult Asian Carp don’t have predators big enough to eat them in the US, there are predators that eat juvenile to small adults. For example, eagles and white pelicans have been seen feeding on these small Asian Carp. Largemouth bass have also been seen eating juvenile Asian Carp, as well as the some other native fish. There is no way, however, that these predators could affect the Asian carp population. As before stated in this article, Asian Carp reproduce in large numbers, so it isn’t possible for these natural predators to completely delete this invasive species.

    http://www.asiancarp.us/index.htm

  2. Are you aware of the legal issues with Asian Carp? There are laws put in to court that make it so you can’t transport them. You also cannot transport their eggs too. This is to prevent the invasive species from overtaking the aquatic life in the United States. Bringing hybrids are also illegal. Following these laws will help reduce the spread of the Asain Carp. They basically decrease the amount of economically important fish in the Great Lakes.

    http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatics/asiancarp.shtml
    http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Fisheries/asian-carp.html

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